Carriers, which may include mobile, terrestrial, fixed-line etc., deliver data services based on a traditional “all you can eat” model, in which data is charged at a flat rate, and, increasingly, based on one or more segmented models, in which some traffic from a given device may be divided into multiple data sub-sessions billed to multiple financially responsible parties for a given time period. In the segmented models, some data flows may be subjected to special billing arrangements, some data flows may receive special traffic prioritization or treatment, and some data flows may be subject to encryption etc.
In some instances, network providers may convey special instructions regarding the handling of these traffic flows via a series of limited interfaces imbedded into Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) or IPv6 protocols. In other instances, the network providers may infer actions by inspecting traffic flows, often via deep packet inspection. Deep packet inspection, however, has limits and drawbacks such as high implementation and scaling costs.